Bachchan celebrated the 42nd anniversary of his film Kaala Patthar

As Kaala Patthar celebrates 42 years, Amitabh Bachchan recalls his early profession as a coal miner

Sarfaraz Rizvi

24th Aug, 2021. 02:46 pm
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On Tuesday, Amitabh Bachchan celebrated the 42nd anniversary of his film Kaala Patthar. Amitabh also took to Instagram to recall his first job, which was working in a coal mine.

Amitabh Bachchan captioned a picture collage from Kaala Patthar he shared on Instagram “Kaala Patthar has been alive for 42 years…!!! phew!!! It’s been a while… and there are so many incidents in the film that are based on my personal experiences while working in the Coal Dept of my Calcutta Company, my first job before joining the movies… actually working in the coal mines in Dhanbad and Asansol.”

Kaala Patthar, which was released in 1979, starred Amitabh as a former Indian Navy Captain who worked in mines to forget his past. Among those who appeared in the film were Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Sanjeev Kumar, Rakhee, Parveen Babi, Neetu Singh, and Prem Chopra.

Yash Chopra directed and produced the action drama, which had a screenplay written by Salim–Javed. The film received critical acclaim, achieved cult status, and is regarded as a classic among Hindi cinema lovers.

Previously, in a 2016 interview with the Deccan Chronicle, he stated, “Few people know that my first job was in coal mines in Kolkata in 1962, where I worked for 7-8 years. The city has changed dramatically. Many flyovers have now been built. I enjoy eating puchka pani in front of the Victoria Memorial.”

During an interview with contestant Ravi Kant on his game show Kaun Banega Crorepati last year, Amitabh mentioned working in a coal mine.

Amitabh made his acting debut in 1969 as one of seven protagonists in Khwaja Ahmad Abbas’ film Saat Hindustani. Utpal Dutt, Anwar Ali, Madhu, and Jalal Agha also appeared.

In the meantime, he is hosting the 13th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Amitabh is working on several projects, including Chehre, Jhund, Brahmastra, and Mayday. He is also working on the Vikas Bahl-directed film Goodbye, which just finished its first shoot schedule.